About the Series

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Larry Berman has been educating investors on air for over 20 years. During the great financial crisis of 2008, viewer phone calls and emails convinced Larry there was a need for more in-depth investing education to help Canadians achieve better outcomes. In 2009 he began hosting live educational conferences. As there are many excellent initiatives aimed at increasing financial literacy, Larry’s conferences cater to individuals who already have a degree of money savvy and are looking to optimize their investment performance to fund their retirement lifestyle goals. Each season the event series empowers investors – addressing the building blocks of sound investment strategy, along with hot-topic subjects in the world of economics and personal finance.

Every show will include digital audience-engagement, and a crowd-sourced version of Berman’s Call, with live audience polling and Q&A using Slido technology.

To date the speaking series has produced more than 200 successful shows, reaching an audience in excess of 62,000 attendees across most Canadian cities, and raising more than $400,000 for Alzheimer’s research and Sick Kids Hospital (#EndChildhoodCancer). All shows are completely free of charge to attendees, thanks in part to the generous support of our event sponsors.

How to Sleep at Night in a Bear Market

The previous Investor’s Guide to Thriving tour wrapped up on December 1st 2018. Aptly named “How Long Can a Bull Market Run?” we may have received our answer. The market printed the worst December since the Great Depression – bringing most of the major indices officially into bear market territory. Markets have rebounded in January as they always do after steep declines, but we are likely in the early phases of a bear market where average corrections are closer to 30% and extreme corrections are more than 50%. If this is case, we haven’t seen the last of market volatility and a downward pattern of lower highs and lower lows. Many people are surprised at this phase because it can take some time for the fallout to move from Wall Street to Main Street – showing up as a recession. Markets generally anticipate economic downturns, so even as rates continue to rise, employment appears to be strong, and many companies are still posting record earnings – you should be paying attention to the growing cracks in the system.

Larry will take the audience on a more detailed tour of past bear markets to see what we can learn about how this next one might compare. Will it be a gentle panda or a deadly grizzly? Can we hope for a soft landing due to aggressive government policy? How would we recognize a market bottom – when the next major bull market might begin? Why not go to cash or put all your money into a GIC right now? There are many questions to ask – and while (spoiler alert) we don’t have a crystal ball to give you the definitive answers, Larry can show you how to navigate bear markets. Using some of his favorite indicators and techniques, you will learn how to use a tactical approach to trading, and strategic asset allocation (including the use of gold, real assets, and other non-equity vehicles), to help keep your portfolio within your personal comfort zone – while avoiding costly emotional mistakes. Success in difficult markets is both a science and an art, so Larry will also discuss the psychological aspect of managing portfolios under stressful conditions.

You will take away from this live presentation a timely perspective on how to find opportunities in bear markets – along with actionable ideas to help strengthen your portfolio, and even a few tools and resources to use at home.

Join the Investors Guide to Thriving this spring to help inform your portfolio strategy!